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So it's been some time, and I won't bother to recall all details at this point. My time at SG is in the past but to comment on your point, I was compensated as a freelancer for some of my work at SG, not only limited to being the editor. This was a rather small amount in the grand scheme of things and the compensation was based on other projects outside of the ECL also. I don't have info on other people being paid nor did I have the authority to agree on any form of potential compensation for any work done by other writers. I haven't read through the whole thread so that's as much as I'll partake in any tea spilling but I'll say that the writing was on the wall for a long time already and it's sad it came to this. I'll cherish my time at SG as both a player and editor, even amidst all the chaos. Hopefully the community can pull through. Kenu - keep your chin up!

hi @SportsGamer i got multiple posts removed from this thread for a couple of jokes & one of them contained a swear word (my bad, really really sorry). i've learned from my mistakes. as we all know, you tend to ban people based on face value and how good buddies u are to them. but this one time, when your integrity is being questioned, could you make an exception and remove all unnecessary/troll posts that don't add value to chat, even if they are from your buddies? i'll be waiting for your reply. br, paikallinen samu

Some people may be wondering why I disappeared from the scene after early 2024. This is my situation: My company had unpaid invoices from SportsGamer from early 2024. A claim was filed in the District Court, and a judgment has been given. However, the enforcement authority has not been able to collect the payment from the company. There have been no updates to the situation during the past six months.

Free C/Rw or RD for next ecl Lite+ Prefer Finnish team https://sportsgamer.gg/players/16048 Contact me here or psn Keittola782

Its obvious, you are trying and wanting to be part of the new league so you're just seeking for problems here. Now when they promized to pay their debts and published dates when their paying, suddenly paying in installmenta is a real issue now also.

Thank you Sportsgamer for the update, as promised. Excellent post by @Grizzly17 Most of the questions were addressed, but on the other hand, many still remain unanswered. It’s great news that you’re working to fix the debts. You’re also asking the community your paying “customers” to have patience and understanding, which is fair enough. However, as a community, we also expect more concrete answers in return. What I’m asking for is that Sportsgamer be as open and honest as possible about the situation. If you want the community’s help, then please give us more concrete answers: Where did the prize pool money from the winter and spring events ultimately go, if there wasn’t enough left to pay the players and teams? Why did it take so long for Sportsgamer to acknowledge these problems, given that they’ve clearly been ongoing for some time? Would Sportsgamer have publicly admitted to this difficult situation if the community hadn’t started asking these questions? Will Sportsgamer take responsibility for paying the debts owed to @iRSPe's company? This is a great start but it’s not enough! Do not underestimate the community; we’re not stupid.

Thanks for the update. Are there any plans to transition into a more bare-bones platform with decreased additional content? Sorry if you've already mentioned this and I missed it. I do give credit to Kenu and the rest of the staff for making the presentation and broadcasts so much more polished and professional. SG has come far from the days when I was co-hosting streams with Kenu and spilling water all over his tech equipment. However, I believe saving money on this type of content (broadcasts, articles, whatever it is) and just focusing on the core platform would make the whole operation more sustainable. I believe that 99% of the scene probably doesn't even care about that content, no matter how much it has improved. The bulk of the community payments comes from the sheer number of Lite teams, right? I think most people are only paying the ever-increasing price of entry because everyone else is playing in the ECL, and people are mainly interested in joining teams that participate in the competitive leagues and tournaments. Basically, if you don't pay for the player and license fees, you are reduced to a casual-only player and left out of the scene. You have nothing to play for unless you're content playing just for fun. Is the game itself good enough without the rush of competitive play? I'm not so sure. Most people really only need the core platform: the hosting and organizing of leagues, the team and player management, the statistics system, the conflict resolution by admins, etc. I understand the push for better broadcasts, articles, and other content. After all, it not only looks better and makes the whole operation feel bigger and more meaningful, but greater engagement should also bring greater numbers. That should translate into better visibility, attract better sponsorship deals, garner more revenue and result in continued growth. But perhaps that is not realistic at the end of the day? The user count has grown a lot, but the revenue streams apparently haven't. Or if they did, they seem to have dried out. The core problem may be the actual game that this whole operation is based on. Not only is the NHL series rather stagnant and not very well-designed around competitive play, it continues to be quite niche in the grand scheme of things. As a conspicuous example, most of the active followers on the streams seem to be players in the scene, which is in contrast to big esports games where you have mass viewership and plenty of fan activity around the players and organizers themselves. I truly commend Kenu and the other people behind SG on their beautiful vision and the hard work they have put into realizing it over the years. Some years ago, doing the streams with Kenu, I personally got to see him behind the scenes juggling multiple things at once while going all out to give us the best experience possible. I hope he continues at the helm through all of this despite the thankless position that he now finds himself in. I honestly believe that he's the most passionate and committed person for the task, and we are lucky to have him. But maybe it's time to scale back? As an irrelevant aside, I'm kind of baffled by what the internet has become. It's like half the people are communicating through glorified predictive text algorithms, resulting in a back-and-forth of em dashes interspersed with the algorithms' rote attempts at engaging the reader. I miss when people wrote in broken English, but with their own authentic thoughts behind every word. I know I've become the old man yelling at the cloud, but I'll take it.

Geez… people here have less patience than my 3-year-old daughter (and hers is absolutely sh**e). Looks like some of you just want drama. People shouldn’t judge before knowing the facts! Sportsgamer promised to give more info in a couple of days, so by tomorrow (Friday) at the latest (?). Why can’t you just wait a bit and then judge when you have the facts? I understand the appropriate questions because people want answers. I’ve known Kenu since before most of you were even born. If there’s one person in the world who would never steal your money or scam you in any way, it’s Kenu. People seem to forget pretty fast. Remember that Kenu has done this for years and years for free. Because it is his passion. At least we owe him the chance to explain everything. From my point of view, maybe not all the wisest decisions have been made but the community should also take a look in the mirror. The community demanded prize pools under the threat of leaving Sportsgamer (a few years ago), and… here we are. Sportsgamer was NOT ready for this. One thing I know is that it's not easy to get a sponsor for this game. Also, to the people here advertising other leagues: there’s a saying “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side”. It takes a lot of work to manage a league and deal with all its problems. You need to be extremely passionate about it to do it all for free. …And before people start saying I’m taking sides, that’s not true. Do I agree that people should receive their money asap and that the payments have taken unacceptably long? Yes. Do I think some risky decisions were made? Yes. Do I think Sportsgamer shouldn’t ask for more money before the old debts are paid? Yes. I don't know why the payments haven't been made in 90 days as promised, but all I’m asking for is a little bit of patience - let them publish the info before judging. I know for a fact that many players, including Elite players, have opinions or suggestions or are blaming SportsGamer. Why are they not opening their mouths now when it's time to speak? That’s because the community is so toxic and they are afraid of being bullied or slaughtered. So they criticize SportsGamer in private. Man up and open your mouth if you have something to say!

Still free

free RD for upcoming tournaments

Free c/LW/LD looking for team

I stand with my goat @FlyerKungen i like my toes getting slightly burnt anyway

Maybe come back ? 😂

SAUDI join @FlyerKungen army 🪖

I stand with @FlyerKungen's #BurningHouseArmy 🔥🏠

Im not even playing anymore but LET'S GO @FlyerKungen ARMY CMOON!!

SG or @OGjahajaha can prove me wrong, but i believe nobody was ever paid for articles(?). i got one free player license after asking for it, you could consider that a payment, but its like 10€. even tho some people think broadcast costs are close to 1.5k € per stream, they might be actually be close to free as well. @bMaJuH could probably give some info -- did you receive any payments for being a commentator? i dont really know what else could be the largest expense besides the actual commentator for a free Twitch stream. LAN expenses have to be the most expensive thing, and they could be skipped without much impact.

Firstly…. Thank you for coming back to us as promised. I welcome the fact that you are trying to make a start to fixing the problem. It is incredibly concerning how you have managed to get into this position… in the past couple days, I’ve only realised how dire the situation really is… 1. Not Paid Winter 25 2. Not Paid Spring 25 3. Outstanding invoices from people such as iRSPe… This now leads me onto my next point…. All that I see written is just words which I hope you will do everything you can to fulfil. Is there any possibility that we can have some kind of assurance. Maybe figures for last year? Breakdown of expenses? And how you are going to become financially stable for the future? I’m also concerned about how you will pay back other teams from previous tournaments… does this mean winners of ECL 26 Winter will have to wait 12 months to see any money… In the UK… we call it “Robbing Peter to pay Paul”. Hopefully you understand the saying. When a community doesn’t trust anymore, it’s a matter of proving what you are actively doing to fix the situation and how it got to that point. If you can show that what you are claiming above is correct, then I’m pretty sure the whole community would actually try to help you as much as possible to clear it up…. I will lastly say this…. Things don’t add up… I have to make the hard decision with my team as to whether I play in ECL or look elsewhere. ECL has been great but I’m not convinced cost cutting measures have really been done optimally if the situation has been like this for a while (which it must have been as there is still Winter prize money outstanding). How much did it cost for Reactiomedia to host the ECL finals and was that the cheapest option available? Again, appreciate you coming out to us. You’ve hit a lot of points but really need some assurance from you to prove you are fixing the problem than just saying it as a money grab for next season.

SportsGamer Update – Current Situation and Next Steps Dear community, As previously communicated, SportsGamer has faced significant financial challenges over the past few years. Despite these difficulties, we remain committed to meeting our obligations to our players, contributors, and the wider community — and to ensuring the ECL’s continued future. Prize Payment Plan We have established a payment plan to settle the delayed ECL ’25: Winter and ECL ’25: Spring prize payouts in four installments: October 30: 50% of ECL ’25: Winter prizes November 14: remaining 50% of ECL ’25: Winter prizes December 15: 50% of ECL ’25: Spring prizes December 30: remaining 50% of ECL ’25: Spring prizes The first installment will be processed at the end of October, and we are committed to following this schedule in full. Players and teams with pending payments are being contacted directly to confirm details. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we complete this process in full transparency. We are also in contact with our long-time contributors and partners to address outstanding matters and keep everyone who has supported SportsGamer’s operations informed. For any ECL ‘25: Spring winners wondering: It is possible to use your prize money to purchase an ECL ‘26: Winter license already in November, even if the payments are scheduled to take place in December. ECL ’26 Season Schedule and Pre-Season Tournament Next week, we will announce the ECL ’26: Winter season schedule and open registration. However, license fee collection will not begin until after November 16. Before the new season officially begins, we will also host a free ECL Pre-Season tournament, open to all players and teams. The goal is to give everyone the opportunity to play, reconnect with the community, and enjoy competitive games without any entry fees. Prize Pool Structure and Transparency For the ECL ’26 Winter season, at least 35% of net license-fee income (after VAT and transaction fees) will be paid out as prize money. The remaining funds will cover operational and production costs and support the continued stabilization of our operations. The initial prize pool estimate will be published before the start of the season, based on confirmed registrations at that time. If additional licenses are purchased during the season, the final prize pool will be adjusted accordingly and disclosed once all registrations are complete. For players with full-year licenses, their contribution will be divided evenly between the Winter and Spring seasons. To maintain transparency, we will share the total net license income with the community after each season. Addressing Community Concerns SportsGamer operates in full compliance with Finnish corporate law. The 2023 financial statement has been completed and will be officially filed once the review and approval process is finalized, while the 2024 financial statement is currently being prepared. Accounting and auditing are managed by an independent accounting firm and a certified auditor. No shareholder has taken any profit or withdrawal from the company at any point. Kenneth Lehtinen received a salary for his operational work until December 2024. The company has operated at a loss throughout its history, funded by shareholder investments. The company is also pursuing opportunities to strengthen its financial position and secure the long-term future of the ECL. Summary Our goal is to rebuild trust through concrete actions. SportsGamer was founded on passion and community spirit, and we want to ensure that future ECL seasons continue delivering a high-quality and sustainable competitive experience for all players. Thank you to everyone who has continued to engage with us and share constructive feedback as we work to move forward together. – SportsGamer Leadership Team

Free RW. Axelzonee on DC.

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@SportsGamer you should be reading this instead of leaving it to your admins to fight a battle that isn’t theirs… We’re all waiting for a response

Appreciate the civil tone, finally a reply that doesn’t sound like it was typed mid meltdown. But let’s be honest. If a company continuously takes money from players, promises prize pools, and then fails to deliver year after year, that’s not bad business. That’s business gone bad. You can wrap it in fancy terms like cashflow issues or unlucky timing, but at the end of the day, people paid for a product and didn’t get what they were promised. If a company can’t handle that responsibility, it shouldn’t be selling licenses or hosting tournaments. And please, spare the government tax increase sob story. We’re not talking about a bakery that couldn’t afford flour, we’re talking about an organization that has pocketed tens of thousands of euros from a paying player base, then gone silent when it’s time to pay out. So yes, you might have a BBA, and that’s great. But you don’t need a degree in international business to recognize when the books don’t balance. You just need a bit of common sense and a moral compass that points somewhere other than excuse management.

Ah, finally, the Einsteins have arrived. Always fascinating how the self-proclaimed business experts show up the moment someone mentions accountability. Let’s make this simple. The issue isn’t about understanding business models, it’s about a company that doesn’t pay out prize money that players have rightfully earned. That’s not a cashflow issue, that’s a breach of trust. If you buy a lottery ticket and win, you expect your winnings. You don’t expect to wait twelve months and be told to be patient because the organizer spent your money somewhere else. What you’re describing isn’t business, it’s mismanagement dressed up as martyrdom. “Thousands of free hours,” “small business struggles,” “support the community”… it’s the same emotional violin every time. Meanwhile, players who paid to participate are left with nothing but excuses. So please, spare us the hero speech. This isn’t a charity, it’s a paid competition. And when the house stops paying out, it stops being a game —> it becomes a scam

This calculation has been around the community for a while. From what I remember, it was based on the license setup and pricing during NHL 24, using the actual number of teams per division that year. It also includes both Winter and Spring seasons, plus the officially announced prize pools. 💰 Original Community Estimate Elite 💳 Player Licenses: 6 players × 16 teams × 40 € = 3,840 € 🏒 Team Licenses: 16 teams × 1,000 € = 16,000 € 💰 Total Revenue: 19,840 € 🏆 Prize Pool: 18,920 € 📈 SportsGamer Profit: 920 € Pro 💳 Player Licenses: 8 players × 32 teams × 40 € = 10,240 € 🏒 Team Licenses: 32 teams × 700 € = 22,400 € 💰 Total Revenue: 32,640 € 🏆 Prize Pool: 6,192 € 📈 SportsGamer Profit: 26,448 € Lite 💳 Player Licenses: 8 players × 64 teams × 40 € = 20,480 € 🏒 Team Licenses: 64 teams × 400 € = 25,600 € 💰 Total Revenue: 46,080 € 🏆 Prize Pool: 6,261 € 📈 SportsGamer Profit: 39,819 € Core 💳 Player Licenses: 8 players × 48 teams × 40 € = 15,360 € 🏒 Team Licenses: 48 teams × 222 € = 10,656 € 💰 Total Revenue: 26,016 € 🏆 Prize Pool: 1,980 € 📈 SportsGamer Profit: 24,036 € Total (Top 4 Divisions) 💰 Total Revenue: 124,576 € 🏆 Total Prize Pool: 33,353 € 📈 SportsGamer Profit: 91,223 € Summary: Only 26.7% of all money collected actually went back to the players. The remaining 73.3% stayed with SportsGamer. And as many of us know, some teams were even offered to skip their prize payout entirely, in exchange for having it deducted from their next season’s license fee. Which, while fair on paper, doesn’t change the percentages above. What SportsGamer Said Themselves Their official statement in the thread said: “Following a later decision that reclassified the licenses under a higher rate, SportsGamer has been required to apply 24–25.5% VAT, which has significantly increased our costs and placed a heavy strain on our finances. In practice, this means that of the total amount paid for licenses, roughly 20% goes to taxes, about 50% to prize payments, and around 30% to operational costs.” So, let’s recalculate using their own explanation. According to Their Claimed Distribution (20% / 50% / 30%) Category Amount (€) Share Total Revenue 124,576 € 100 % Taxes (≈20%) 24,915 € 20 % Prize Money (50%) 62,288 € 50 % Operational Costs (30%) 37,373 € 30 % Total 124,576 € 100 % Comparison Source Total Revenue (€) Prize Pool (€) % to Players Difference Community Estimate 124,576 € 33,353 € 26.7 % — SportsGamer’s Own Claim 124,576 € 62,288 € 50.0 % +23.3 % If we take their numbers at face value, it would mean that half of all collected money went back to players. Which sounds great — except that it clearly didn’t. The official prize pools are nowhere near that. Their own math completely contradicts the public data. Even if we assume 20% VAT was paid (fair enough), that still leaves about 99,660 € within the company. Out of that, according to their statement, 62,288 € should’ve gone to prizes. But the actual amount distributed was 33,353 €. That’s a gap of roughly 28,935 € per season, using their own claimed figures. If their 20 / 50 / 30 split was real: The tax is fine, it’s part of the license cost anyway. The prize pool should’ve been closer to 62,000 €, not 33,000 €. About 29,000 € per season is simply unaccounted for. So the question becomes even more obvious: where did the money go? And when they now say that no salary has been paid to Kenu since December 2024, it raises even more questions. Because if no salary was paid, the money clearly isn’t showing up as prizes, taxes, or operating costs either. As Janikka said perfectly in her post: "have questions about the current organizational or ownership dynamics. A company called Reactio Media is or was somehow involved (as evidenced by the current Twitch account that hosts all the SportsGamer streams). I can't find any pertinent information about the company online, but its owners are involved in various companies whose background information is available." This whole thing didn’t clarify anything , it just made it all look even more suspicious. At this point, the picture being painted is less of a struggling company… and more of a pyramid-shaped business model. I’m not a mathematician, and I’m not an economist. But what’s certain is that the total amount of paid licenses adds up more or less correctly. It’s everything else that doesn’t add up.

Thank you for your openness and honesty, but I have many questions running through my mind. Who are these shareholders? The company’s board includes the same people who can be found online linked to several other companies, such as Sportsgamer, Pureevents, Street Games, etc. Why haven’t the “owners” paid salaries or agreed compensations to the employees? Why should we, as a community, pay the debts of very questionable owners? I would really appreciate an honest explanation of this situation. Right now, everything looks very suspicious. I’m sorry for being so blunt. I truly appreciate you, Kenu, and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for the community, but sometimes we just have to face the facts. I don’t know whose responsibility this is, but I strongly recommend fixing the financial situation before asking the community for more money or alternatively, turning the whole ECL into a free service with a small participation fee, like €5 per person. No prize money should be awarded until the finances are clearly in order. At the moment, it feels like you’re asking the community to pay off a debt that has accumulated over the years, and that’s simply not right. I’m not blaming anyone personally, but the whole ownership situation seems very shady right now.

I have questions about the current organizational or ownership dynamics. A company called Reactio Media is or was somehow involved (as evidenced by the current Twitch account that hosts all the SportsGamer streams). I can't find any pertinent information about the company online, but its owners are involved in various companies whose background information is available. https://www.proff.fi/yrityksen/sports-gamer-oy/espoo/kuntosalit-ja-muu-urheilu/3192899-5I10L8 Here is some information on SportsGamer where we find those two names, the Salutskijs, that are involved in various companies, including SportsGamer today. Before I pay for any license or other fees to anyone, I want full transparency on the ownership. Who are these guys? What exactly does their involvement in SportsGamer entail? Some of the companies they are involved in have notably high turnover rates (which in no way guarantees that these companies are profitable, of course, but it's an interesting detail). Is some of the money SportsGamer collects from the community going to the Salutskijs somehow, despite your financial breakdown in the official update? Have the Salutskijs contributed to the finances of SportsGamer at any point? https://pureevents.fi/ota-yhteytta/ I also found this, a company called Pure Events. Perhaps formerly known as Reactio Media? The contact page includes the Salutskijs and some people who are much more familiar to us here on SportsGamer. So, my attempted sleuthing is all over the place, as you can see. I'm just confused about the big picture. I am not leveling any accusations. I just want information. What's going on behind the scenes?

Propably the most important thing is that you pay all the missing prize money to the players who deserve them before you start begging for more license payments. Or is the business model to pay last season's prize money from next season's license fees? If so, seems to be working great 😃

Let’s be honest. This isn’t transparency. It’s damage control. SportsGamer has been struggling for years, and it’s not because of Twitch or sponsorships. It’s because of poor management and a lack of honesty. You’ve been collecting license fees from players season after season, while prize payments have been delayed or disappeared altogether. That’s not bad luck. That’s bad leadership. You say that 20% of the money goes to taxes, 50% to prizes, and 30% to operations. If that’s true, then prize pools should already be secured before the tournaments even begin. Instead, it’s obvious that player license fees are being used to pay your ongoing expenses. That means players have been funding your operations, not their own prize pools. And now you talk about seeking external funding to pay off prize money that’s already overdue. No legitimate company does that. If the money was handled properly, there would be no need for investors to cover the gap. It’s clear that the funds have been mismanaged. Then comes the part where you ask the community whether we’d still play if the prize pools were reduced. That’s not a survey. That’s a way to soften the blow before you announce that the money is gone. It’s an attempt to make players feel responsible for your mistakes! At this point, SportsGamer is no longer running as a community platform. It’s running like a pyramid scheme. New license fees pay old debts, management keeps their salary, and when the structure starts collapsing, you try to shift the blame onto the players. This isn’t about delays anymore. It’s about trust and integrity. You built this scene on passion, volunteer work, and player effort. You’ve now used that trust to keep a sinking ship afloat. If you truly care about this community, then prove it. Publish the numbers. Show exactly where the money went. Let the players see what’s real. Until that happens, no team, player, or sponsor should continue supporting SportsGamer. You don’t fix broken trust with surveys or nice words. You fix it by paying what you owe and telling the truth. To the SportsGamer leadership Your statement doesn’t fix the problem, it confirms it. You’ve collected license fees season after season, promised prize pools that were never secured, and now admit to needing external funding to pay players what they’re owed. The community deserves accountability, not vague apologies and PR language. If SportsGamer truly values “transparency,” then publish the books. Show where the license money went. Show the debt. Show the shareholders. Until that happens, no player, sponsor, or organization should continue funding this structure. You don’t get to “survey your way out of accountability.” Pay the winners. Publish the numbers. Or shut it down. // A long-time EHL/ECL player who’s done watching you exploit this community.